This is not a collection of work for sale, but an archive compiled from records I have kept of sketchbooks, drawings and paintings as well as more recent work. I have grouped them in categories as much for myself as for anyone else who might be interested.

Sketchbooks evoke memories in a way that photos, holiday snaps and so on never can. The process of trying to make an honest record of whatever was being observed, seems to heighten all the senses, not just that of sight. Colour notes on the page, a comment or two about sounds, music playing, snatches of conversation, random thoughts & ideas jotted down, a name and phone number scribbled on the page - all these sorts of things can add to the act of intense scrutiny and bring vivid memories back decades later. They were never supposed to be for other people, more of a visual diary … thinking aloud on paper.

I find it almost impossible to make paintings from such sketches and retain the freshness of those moments in time.

Some of my paintings have been more about pattern, texture and juxtapositions of tone and colour on the surface of the board I was painting on, rather than about the subject matter itself. These would be worked on in a studio. Others were treated a bit like the drawings … a scrutiny or observation of whatever had caught my attention painted there, on the spot.

The cat paintings belong, in a way, to a different story altogether but are still an essential part of this narrative having been a major practical preoccupation for a couple of decades.

Although most of the images on the website are from sketchbooks or records of paintings which I have already sold, others - including more recent paintings not shown here - are available.

Should you have any enquiries or would like more information, please email me:

celia_pike@hotmail.com

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Biography:

Born in Dorking, I studied fine art at Central College of Art and Design (foundation 1970-1971), St. Martins School of Art (BA Fine Art 1971-1974) and the Royal Academy Schools (1974-1977 RA Postgraduate cert.).

I also spent one year at Falmouth School of Art painting landscapes. Whilst at college, I won a Richard Jack Prize for Portraiture and a David Murray Travel Scholarship, spending time painting landscapes in the South of France.

I live and work in South London.

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Exhibitions Include:

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London
Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, Mall Galleries, London
Hilliard Society of Miniaturists, Wells, Somerset
Society of Women Artists, London (recipient of the 2003 Windsor & Newton Award for Best Exhibited Painting)
Llewellyn Alexander, London
Manya Igel Fine Art, London
The Clifton Gallery, Bristol
Royal Watercolour Society Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition, London
Royal Fine Art, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Royal Society of Marine Artists, Mall Galleries, London
Chappel Galleries, Colchester, Essex
Whitechapel Gallery, London

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All Work © Celia Pike

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